1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to connectors for coaxial cables, and more particularly, to connectors for coaxial cables having corrugated hollow inner-conductors.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A coaxial cable is typically terminated by a connector assembly which makes contact with both the inner-conductor and outer-conductor of the cable. Such a connector assembly provides a means for connecting the cable to another device. The connector assembly usually has an outer-conductor contact and an inner-conductor contact. Normally, the inner-conductor contact is first attached to the inner-conductor and then the outer-conductor contact is attached to the outer-conductor. During attachment of the outer-conductor contact, the inner-conductor contact is positioned within the outer-conductor contact so that the inner-conductor contact is supported therein. Under this assembly procedure, axial misalignment of the inner-conductor contact can result causing poor electrical performance, among other things. To reduce the possibility of such misalignment, some prior art connector assemblies utilize two mating parts to connect the inner-conductor to the connector assembly; one part is installed in the inner-conductor and the other part is affixed to the outer-conductor contact. By using two mating parts to connect the inner-conductor to the connector assembly, misalignment problems are reduced but not eliminated. Also, one problem with the connector assembly design having a two mating part inner-conductor contact is that more parts and assembly time are required, which increases the costs of using and manufacturing such a connector assembly.